3 Manipur sportsmen to get Arjuna Awards

Imphal, Aug 20 : Three sportspersons from Manipur will receive Arjuna awards 2012, official sources said.

Among the three to be honoured with the prestigious award, L Bombayla(archery) and Sonia Chanu(weight lifting) had represented India in the London Olympics and Bimoljit is a Wushu player.

The government had announced Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award and Arjuna Awards for the year 2012 yesterday.

Sports official said Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award - 2012 will be conferred on Vijay Kumar(Shooting) and Yogeshwar Dutt (Wrestling).

Normally, only one Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award is given every year to an individual sportsperson.

However, the scheme provides that this condition can be relaxed in exceptional circumstances- winning of an Olympic medal.

Likewise for the Arjuna Awards, normally not more than 15 awards are given in any calendar year.

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award is given for spectacular performance in the year under consideration while Arjuna Award is given for consistently outstanding performance for three consecutive years preceding the year of award.

Apart from a medal and a citation, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Awardees will receive a cash prize of Rs 7.5 lakh each and Arjuna Awardees will receive statuettes, citations and cash prize of Rs 5 lakh each.

The awardees will receive their awards from the President of India at a specially organised function at the Rashtrapati Bhawan on August 29.